On the Sublime by Longinus is celebrated for its insightful analysis of great literature and rhetoric, offering timeless principles of sublimity that resonate even today. However, some critics find its fragmented structure challenging and its historical context obscure. Overall, the work is highly regarded for its profound influence on literary criticism.

A reader who enjoys On the Sublime by Longinus likely appreciates classical literature, rhetoric, and literary criticism. They are similar to readers of Aristotle's Poetics and Horace's Ars Poetica, valuing insights into the power of elevated language and its impact on emotions and persuasion.

On the Sublime by Longinus, is an epistolary treatise addressed to Postumius Terentianus that offers advice on achieving greatness in writing. Longinus argues that greatness, or the sublime, overwhelms and moves readers and is achieved through great thoughts, strong emotions, noble diction, effective word arrangement, and figures of speech. He illustrates his points with examples from writers like Homer and Plato and discusses the role of innate genius and moral excellence in great writing. The treatise highlights that freedom in society is essential for literary greatness.

Informative / Inspirational / Contemplative / Emotional / Serene

- On the Sublime is one of the earliest known works of literary criticism and has significantly influenced the development of the concept of the sublime in Western literary theory.
- The authorship of On the Sublime has been a topic of debate, with the most common attribution being to Longinus, although some scholars suggest it might have been written by an unknown rhetorician of the 1st century CE.

**Longinus**  
The disputed author of the influential critical work that examines Western literature and offers insights into aesthetics and criticism, sometimes referred to as Pseudo-Longinus.

**Homer**  
The legendary ancient Greek poet attributed with composing the foundational epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, analyzed in the treatise for their stylistic nuances.

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Chapters 1-5

On the Sublime Chapters 1-5 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 6-10

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Chapters 11-15

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Chapters 16-29

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Chapters 30-38

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Chapters 39-44

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